


Walking the Stars

by WotanAnubis



Category: Magic: The Gathering
Genre: Alternate Universe - Science Fiction, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-07
Updated: 2018-04-07
Packaged: 2019-04-19 19:15:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,230
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14243964
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WotanAnubis/pseuds/WotanAnubis
Summary: In which Chandra has a meeting with Nissa that doesn't go so well and one that goes a bit better.





	Walking the Stars

**Author's Note:**

> So I had this idea and it wouldn't leave me alone so I wrote it down and here it is.

The _Pyromancer_ emerged back into realspace deep inside the system and far away from the Stellar Bridge it should have taken. Interstellar law said that inside colonized space, all ships had to travel through the Bridges. But Chandra had never really been one for laws. The _Pyromancer_ was one of the few ships around that didn't need Bridges. It was the one thing that it made it so wanted. Well, that and all the firepower it could bring to bear.

Still... perhaps it would have been smarter to just use the Bridge instead jumping right into a system she'd known beforehand would have been filled with military vessels. The _Pyromancer_ was powerful, but it wasn't _that_ powerful. Ah well. Too late to worry about that now.

"We're being targeted," Kari Zev said from her position near one of the consoles and sounding pretty unconcerned about the whole thing.

"Who's targeting us?" Chandra asked, leaning back in her comfortable captain's chair.

"All of them," Kari replied. "They're all targeting us."

"What, _every_ ship?" Chandra asked, genuinely surprised.

"Well, except for the _Revelation_ ," said Kari.

Chandra relaxed. "Ah, that's alright then," she said.

"Oh, and now they're hailing us, of course," Kari announced. "Target first, ask questions later."

"Well, at least they haven't fired yet," said Chandra. "Come on, let's hear 'em."

"Unidentified vessel, identify yourself," a voice said in all seriousness.

Kari rolled her eyes.

"This is Captain Nalaar of the _Pyromancer_ ," Chandra said as professionally as she could manage. "We're here to speak to Admiral Revane."

"You have entered our space unlawfully. Stand down and prepa-"

The voice cut off abruptly. For a moment, the bridge was silent. It was a very small moment. The _Pyromancer_ 's crew wasn't known for being calm and quiet.

"Think Revane is chewing 'em out for just turning their guns on us like that?" Kari said casually.

"Probably not," Chandra said. "A ship shows up inside a system without using a Bridge? Can't blame them for getting jumpy. But I'll bet that-"

" _Pyromancer_ , you are to rendezvous with the _Revelation_ at once," the voice said as it returned as abruptly as it had cut out, and quite failing to hide the misery in his voice. "Admiral Revane will see Captain Nalaar at her earliest convenience."

* * * * *

The _Revelation_ was pretty much as Chandra remembered it. Sterile, efficient. Military. 'Course, that kind of thing was necessary. Even the _Pyromancer_ 's crew was disciplined. Or at least disciplined enough to keep the place clean and in working order.

But the _Revelation_ had no real humanity to it. Everything was so... functional. It was a ship where people worked, not lived. And yet, due to the very nature of space travel, it was also a place where people had to live.

The _Pyromancer_ was a lot of things - a mercenary ship, a privateer, an aimless nomad - but what it always was above all else was a home. A bit of a messy home, maybe, but a home. The _Revelation_ was an office nobody was ever able to escape. Chandra quietly hoped that wouldn't always be the case. That Nissa would one day see sense and join the _Pyromancer_ , join her, in its wandering between the stars.

But that day would not be today.

Chandra walked into the captain's quarters, which was as sterile and functional as everywhere else on the ship. The only thing that hinted that there was actually a person who worked here was the small, carefully tended bonsai tree on the otherwise functional desk. Oh, and the actual person sitting in the chair behind the desk.

Nissa looked up from whatever she had been working on and pinned Chandra to the floor with her gorgeous, completely emerald eyes. Rumor had it those eyes weren't entirely natural. That Nissa had had them modified shortly after she got the _Revelation_. Chandra really didn't care. They were still gorgeous.

"Ah, Captain Nalaar."

Chandra's heart sank as quickly as it had risen.

"Admiral Revane," she said, ice hanging from every word.

Admiral Revane waved a gloved hand. "Please, take a seat."

"I'll stand, thank you," said Chandra.

Admiral Revane gave her a look and sighed. "If you insist. I'm sorry, but this is business. Surely the fleet massed here should have given you a hint?" she added with a faint smile.

"Yeah, I guess," said Chandra. "Still, you could've given a proper greeting."

"I'm on duty," said Admiral Revane.

"Sure," said Chandra. "Anyway, why am I here?"

"Eldrazi bioships have been spotted near the outer systems," said Admiral Revane. "I could use the _Pyromancer_ 's help destroying them."

Chandra raised an eyebrow. "Really? Eldrazi? Thought we already blew 'em up. Two of them, anyway."

"Fragments of them remain," said Admiral Revane. "They need to be tracked down and destroyed. And since it seems they're lurking outside of colonized space, I need ships that don't need Bridges."

"Well now," Chandra said cheerfully. "Sounds like it's just going to be the two of us, then."

Admiral Revane gave her a look. "I've also requested the presence of the _Lawkeeper_ , the _Chain Veil_ , and the _Mind Sculptor_. Hopefully it won't get stuck somewhere and forget about it."

"Oh," said Chandra. "Well, they're not here yet, so, if you need me and all that, I think I'll go enjoy some leave on solid ground, alright?"

"You're going down to Murasa?" Admiral Revane.

"What?" said Chandra. "Oh, you mean the planet. No. No, I meant the station. I'll be on the station."

"Ah," said Admiral Revane, looking inexplicably relieved. Then, "Uhm. Before you go..."

"Yeah?" Chandra said.

"I don't want to ask. But I have to. Duty, you understand."

Chandra sighed. "Come on, out with it."

"You'll take the job?"

Chandra didn't roll her eyes, but it was a close thing. "Yes, Admiral Revane, I'll take the job."

* * * * *

Staying on the station where the _Pyromancer_ had ended up docking was fast turning out to be a mistake. Sure, the quarters Chandra had managed to secure for herself were roomier than her quarters back on the ship and station did have a lot more fresh produce shipped up from the planet at far more reasonable prices than she would've managed to get on the _Pyromancer_.

But it was still all so... functional. Organized. It wasn't even a military station, as such, just the planet's orbital spaceport. People actually did live here, but Chandra was willing to bet that here she'd never be woken up in the middle of the ship-night (or station-night in this case) by a drunken brawl in the corridor outside.

A big, soft bed, a shower with water and fresh food wasn't worth all this. 

Chandra was considering packing up and heading back to her own ship when there was a chime at the door.

"Who is it?" she asked.

The door slid open, revealing Admiral Revane. 'Revealing' was exactly the right word. She was no longer dressed in her drab military uniform. Instead a shimmering green dress clung beautifully to her slender frame.

"Uh..." Chandra stared.

"May I come in?" Admiral Revane asked. "Chandra?"

"Oh, yeah, of course," said Chandra, still unable to tear her eyes away. "You, uh... your dress... wasn't really expecting anything like that."

Admiral Revane smiled. "Well," she said, "I'm not on duty."

And with that, Nissa stepped in Chandra's room and closed the door behind her.


End file.
